Energy

Energy in Europe: Imports dependency

Published

3 months ago

March 20, 2026

The Energy in Europe – 2026 edition interactive publication helps to make energy statistics more understandable by exploring topics such as energy products, dependency, sources and consumption. Today, we focus on energy imports and imports dependency.

In 2024, the main energy product category imported was oil and petroleum products (including crude oil, which is the main component), accounting for 67% of energy imports into the EU, followed by natural gas (24%), solid fossil fuels (4%), electricity (3%), and renewable energy (2%). Regarding the different products, the largest share of oil and petroleum products came from the United States (16%), natural gas came mostly from Norway (30%) and the biggest share of solid fossil fuel imports (mostly coal) originated from Australia (31%).

The energy imports dependency rate in the EU was 57%, which means that nearly 60% of the EU’s energy needs were met by net imports. However, the dependency rate varied across EU countries. The highest levels were found in Malta (98%), Luxembourg (91%) and Cyprus (88%), while the lowest dependency was in Estonia (5%), Sweden (27%) and Latvia (29%).

Click to enlarge

The interactive publication guides you through key indicators on energy in Europe, offering visualisations and short summaries of the main findings. It allows you to explore and compare data on energy at EU and country level.

For more information

Methodological notes

The energy dependence rate is a measure of the extent to which a country or region relies on external energy sources to meet its energy needs. Every country in the world, including EU countries, are considered external energy sources. Energy dependence is defined as the ratio of net energy imports (imports minus exports) divided by the total energy consumption (gross available energy) of the country or region.

Share this article: